<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>café au lait by peachesandgravy (cheriper)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26728567">café au lait</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheriper/pseuds/peachesandgravy'>peachesandgravy (cheriper)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Day6 (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, First Meetings, M/M, Meet-Cute, shorter than wonpil's bright red shorts, sickeningly cute, that coffee shop college au i had no business writing, very short</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:15:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,367</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26728567</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheriper/pseuds/peachesandgravy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jae shoots his shot towards the cute blonde at the other side of the cafe.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Wonpil/Park Jaehyung | Jae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>89</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>café au lait</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>x</p><p> </p><p>On a good day, Jae enjoyed his classes on International Relations. On a bad day in Hell Week, for example, it was taking all of him not to pull out all the hair on his head. After studying for his major exams and writing essays, he was burned out and ready to throw in the towel. He needed his semester to end before it ended him.</p><p>He slouched off the comfy bucket chair on his favorite campus coffee shop, one long skinny arm reached out for his coffee cup. Alas, the drink was done. And his paper was still not.</p><p>Releasing an exhausted sigh, he took out his eyeglasses and looked around the shop. Almost all tables were full of tired students in variations of wrinkled casual clothes and passably clean pajamas. It was two hours after midnight on Thursday. Everyone could feel the dregs of hump day. Across him, his close friend Younghyun was stealing a power nap which Jae already knew would stretch until the next morning.</p><p>With his energy at its lowest, Jae was sure he could feel his soul start to seep out of his mortal body inch by inch… until he heard the bright, hiccup-y laughter of someone a couple of tables in front of them.</p><p>A cute, blonde man was in a black soft cotton tee. He was sitting with his thigh spread so that Jae could see one leg covered in bright red shorts, hitched high enough to see one pale leg with a healthy smattering of hair. Tucked behind one of the legs of his chair was one foot in bright white sneakers. </p><p>Bright laughter, bright hair, bright shorts, bright shoes. Everything about him was bright.</p><p>It was like being plugged straight into a power socket. Jae didn’t know something more potent than Red Bull could exist and could recharge him with just one laughter.</p><p>He sat up straighter on his seat, trying to peep subtly at the blonde boy’s table. He was sitting alone on his side and two dark-haired boys sat across him. It seemed like they were laughing about some topic that only this unholy hour of the morning could bring out of tired college students.</p><p>The taller one, the one sitting right across the blonde boy, stood up. He was lanky, kind of like a blonde boy, and proceeded to the counter again. The space on the table freed up and Jae could now see a silver Macbook in front of the blonde boy.</p><p>He then looked at the Macbook in front of him.</p><p>Then back to blonde boy’s Macbook.</p><p>Suddenly, a deliciously wonderful idea occurred to him.</p><p> </p><p>xx</p><p> </p><p>Wonpil was sure his brain was fried along with his bleached blonde scalp and it was all Dowoon’s fault. He had known Dowoon long enough to blame him for everything wrong that happened to him. (Chances were, Dowoon had some hand for said misfortunes, anyway.)</p><p>“Oh, hyung. I’m so tired. I can’t do this paper anymore,” Dowoon complained for the nth time that night. They were on the last days of their Hell Week. “I’m a practical music major. Why the fuck do I need to write a paper on the politics of the Baroque art movement?”</p><p>“Because you’re the dumbass who enlisted Art Studies 10. Dowoonie, why?” Wonpil laughed at him. Everything was starting to be funny at Wonpil at this level of exhaustion.</p><p>“Because Sungjin-hyung said this was an easy A!” Dowoon barked.</p><p>Beside them, Sungjin lowered his sheaf of readings to glare at Dowoon. “Hey.”</p><p>“You forgot that Sungjinie-hyung was smart,” Wonpil said.</p><p>Dowoon deflated on his seat. “You’re right. I did forget that.”</p><p>Releasing a depressed sigh, Dowoon stood up. “Okay, I’m pooped out. I need more caffeine. Anyone need anything from the bar?”</p><p>Sungjin was back on his readings again and shook his head wordlessly at the youngest’s question. Wonpil straightened up on his seat, still laughing at Dowoon. “I’m good, Dowoonie. Go get your hot chocolate.”</p><p>“It’s not hot chocolate! It’s mocha,” he grumbled as he walked towards the counter again.</p><p>Wonpil only laughed at this and looked at Dowoon’s retreating back.</p><p>It was then that something pinged at his Macbook.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>AirDrop</b>
</p><p>Note from eaJ</p><p> </p><p>‘eaJ?’ </p><p>Who on earth was that?</p><p>Wonpil mused before he absentmindedly clicked ‘Accept’.</p><p>It was a short note with a number.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Your laughter is more potent than caffeine. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It made my world brighter.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Have some café au lait with me?</em>
</p><p>
  <em> +1 xxxx xxx xxxx </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Wonpil thought to himself, ‘What a ballsy move.’</p><p>And then, out of exhaustion at 2:30 am, he took out his phone, saved the contact, and shot off a reply.</p><p>After all, it was only polite.</p><p> </p><p>xxx</p><p> </p><p>Jae was in the middle of observing the marvelous physics model that was Younghyun falling off his seat when his phone pinged beside him.</p><p>
  <em> ‘Cute move. Cuter if you showed yourself to me.’ </em>
</p><p>Jae smiled at the reply. He looked over at the blonde boy who was now looking at something in his Macbook. He was probably back to writing his essay or studying his modules.</p><p>Quickly, Jae typed a reply, <em> ‘But you’re quite busy right now. Don’t want to disturb you. Maybe we can grab a coffee after Hell Week?’ </em></p><p>
  <em> ‘Again, cute. And sorry, I don’t go out with strangers.’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ‘We’re still strangers even after I showed myself to you. One date, two dates, three. How sure would you be when we will ever stop being strangers to each other, really?’ </em>
</p><p>Hell Week was really getting into Jae. He didn’t know where that mouthful came out from. Luckily, blonde boy still replied to his brainfart.</p><p>
  <em> ‘My brain is too exhausted to process your philosophical ramblings. Also, I did not take Philo 1. I’m a piano major, if that would help us become less strangers. Your turn.’ </em>
</p><p>Piano major. Long, nimble fingers. Jae’s mind had obviously gone over the gutter.</p><p>
  <em> ‘Thanks for sharing that. Okay, my turn. I’m a couple of tables down. The one with the falling over man tilted sideways.’ </em>
</p><p> </p><p>xxx</p><p> </p><p>Wonpil looked over his phone and counted tables, only for his eyes to find the cutest man he had ever seen.</p><p>He was on the lankier side. Tall, Wonpil could tell that much from the man’s long outstretched legs under their table.</p><p>The tall and thin man was wearing the comfiest gray hoodie Wonpil had ever seen. He could now imagine running his hand through the cloth of his hoodie. A few dark hairs were jutting out of the hood. Those, too, must be soft.</p><p>Pushed by 2 am Hell Week exhaustion and whatever devil it was on his shoulders, Wonpil stood up and headed straight to him. On his way, he walked past a baffled Dowoon.</p><p>“Hyung, where are you going?”</p><p>“Unstrangering a stranger,” Wonpil answered mysteriously.</p><p>“Huh?” Dowoon tilted his head sideways at Wonpil.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it, Dowoonie. I’ll just be a couple of tables over.”</p><p>And with that, Wonpil walked straight to the thin man’s table.</p><p> </p><p>xxxx</p><p> </p><p>Jae watched as the blonde stood up from his table and stopped by his friend who was on his way back to their table. They chatted a bit before the blonde boy walked straight to his table.</p><p>“So, is that ‘eej’ like ’each’ or ‘eyaj’ like…” the blonde man started.</p><p>“I’ll treat you to a coffee if you could find any word that rhymes with ‘eyaj’,” Jae offered.</p><p>The blonde man scrunched his nose up, thinking. It was the cutest thing ever. “No, I can’t think of any. So I guess this is the start and end of our dating life. Goodbye then, stranger.” And with that, Wonpil turned on his heels.</p><p>Jae pushed off his seat and gently grabbed the blonde man’s wrist. “Hey, I was just kidding.”</p><p>The blonde man turned and looked at Jae’s hand on his wrist, which made Jae release his hold.</p><p>“I’m Wonpil,” the blonde man said, as he offered one hand out to Jae.</p><p>Jae looked at the outstretched hand. He was right. Long, nimble fingers. </p><p>God bless piano majors.</p><p>“Jae, ‘eej’, ‘your next boyfriend’,” he answered.</p><p>Wonpil’s answering laughter was more than enough to bring the sun back to Jae’s world.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>inspired by  <a> this. </a></p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>